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The death of a father and son in police custody last week in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has caused outrage and protest in the state. Family members and friends of the victims have accused the police of subjecting them to torture while they were in custody.

One of the main voices of the Brazilian and Latin American ecumenical movement, Jether Pereira Ramalho passed away on 28 June, in Rio, leaving behind a legacy of inspiration, dedication and transformation to many generations.

As Brazilians face harder times on a daily basis with the increasing impacts of COVID-19 at all levels of society, several church-based organizations launched a campaign on 11 June calling on people to express solidarity with all who have lost family members and friends due to the pandemic and its systemic consequences in a reality marked by inequality, such as hunger, violence, and racism.

“It was with sorrow that we received the news about the passing of Rev. Norman Bent,” said Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). “Through his tireless ministry for reconciliation, justice and peace, Rev. Bent leaves behind an inspiring legacy for the global ecumenical movement.”

Rt. Rev. Sharma Nithyanandam is the bishop in Vellore, Church of South India. Below, he reflects on how churches can infuse hope as an antidote to despair by becoming agents of tangible social action. During the COVID-19 lockdown, our church doors may be closed but our hearts are not, and Bishop Nithyanandam reflects on why this is a time for deeds and not just words.

Norwegian churches added their voice to the chorus of concern for the people of the Amazon as the coronavirus increasingly spreads. In a letter to the Brazilian embassy, the Church of Norway and the Roman Catholic Church in Norway jointly expressed deep solidarity with the people of Brazil.

Hope, solidarity and a spirit of service are recurring themes in Easter messages received by the World Council of Churches from many of its member churches and partners.

In a time when Brazil has been the arena of somehow conflicting narratives on how to face the COVID-19 pandemic, World Council of Churches (WCC) member churches have been active in supporting health authorities such as the World Health Organization in their efforts to advise people to be away from agglomerations that could increase transmission of the virus.

Women in Chile have been subject to violence, forced nudity, humiliation and even rape in the framework of the social protests taking place in the nation since last October, said Chilean theologian and lawyer Cecilia Castillo Nanjari.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), received former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva, at the Ecumenical Centre on 6 March, in Geneva, Switzerland.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has just published two new Bible studies penned by authors from Colombia. Both focus on aspects of the WCC Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

The Protestant Church of South India’s sustainable environmental education initiative has been nominated for the 2019 UNESCO-Japan Prize.

Adv Rajendra Sail, a noted human rights activist and ecumenist from India, passed away on 26 January, at age 72. Sail stood out from the Christian community for his deeper engagements on human rights issues and bold steps in questioning the government on its failures to adhere to the principles of democracy and secular commitment.

“It was with great sadness that we received the news of the passing of Rev. Pablo Sosa, one of the grandfathers of global ecumenical spirituality,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC. The Argentinian Methodist pastor passed away on 11 January, in Buenos Aires, at the age of 85.

More than 40 church leaders and diakonia specialists from 15 Asian countries participated in training in ecumenical diakonia and development organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 4-7 December.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism Theology in Mission Working Group gathered from 28 October to 2 November in Kottayam, India.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) global fellowship expressed its sadness upon the passing of Rev. Dr Augustine G. Jeyakumar, on 31 October in Chennai, India. Jeyakumar was the executive secretary of the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India, director of Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, and the treasurer of the National Council of Churches of India.

On 23-24 October, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), met the leadership of the Methodist Church of Mexico, as part of an internal process of discernment that might lead to resuming their membership in the WCC, suspended since 1994.

As anger and protests in Chile have escalated into violence and caused 18 deaths, the World Council of Churches’ general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has joined other church leaders in calling for a cessation of violence and a mechanism for addressing its root causes.